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The fall brings an exciting range of meteor showers, making it the perfect time of year for celestial observers who have to get to the outside to spot shooting stars.
Meteor showers occur every year when Earth's orbit around the sun drives our planet through rocky debris torn from comets. When fast-moving rock fragments reach our atmosphere, they burn, leaving behind bright trails of light.
And you do not need a telescope or any other special equipment to see them.
"With the meteor rains, you want to see as much sky as possible – and the best way to do that is just to use your eyes," said Bill Cooke, head of the environmental office of the meteor at NASA in Huntsville, Alabama. "With a telescope or binoculars, you will only see a small part of the sky."
Cooke says the best way to watch a meteor shower is to go out at night, find a dark place with a clear view of the sky and look up. Be careful not to take a look at your cell phone or other light sources so that your eyes stay adjusted in the dark.
Here are four meteor showers to take this fall:
Draconid meteor shower
The first meteorite rain of the season is the draconids, which occur every autumn when the Earth crosses the wake of comet 21P / Giacobini-Zinner. The shower peaks on Monday, October 8, but do not wait too long. Cooke says the draconids will likely only produce one or two meteors an hour, with the best views arriving just after dusk.
The Orionid meteor shower
The Orionids return each year between October 2nd and November 7th. At their peak on October 21st, you may be able to see 20 to 30 meteors an hour, says Cooke. The best view of the show is around 3 am local time, when the full moon is down and the sky is dark.
Orionids are associated with Halley's Comet. Cooke says that these meteors are some of the brightest and fastest – caused by debris that reaches our atmosphere at about 150,000 miles at the time, about three times faster than a typical meteor.
"They come to see us almost from the front, so they burn fast, in the high atmosphere, and they do not last very long," says Cooke.
The meteor shower taurides
On November 12, the Taurids reach their peak when debris from comet 2P Encke touches the Earth's atmosphere. As with most showers, the best views occur early in the morning, between 2 am and 3 am local time.
"Most meteors could not cross the atmosphere and burn for miles above our heads," says Cooke. The Taurids, however, are big enough to survive a trip into the atmosphere and fall on Earth. And because of their large size, he says, these meteors usually give a brilliant and inflamed sight.
The meteor shower Leonid
The meteor shower Leonid peaks the morning of November 17 and 18, when the Earth crosses debris from the comet Tempel-Tuttle. Leonids usually produce about 10 meteors an hour, according to Cooke. But these shooting stars are even faster than the Orionids, moving at about 200,000 km / h. This makes it the fastest of all the meteors, according to Cooke.
For a breathtaking view of the Leonids, head for 2 am local time. "The Leonids are always showering early in the morning," says Cooke. "Mother Nature does not respect people's sleep much."
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